Planning of the Central Government to manufacture in Bharat

Rs 42,000 crore stealth submarine plan for the Indian Navy to finally kick off
Key points:

India is now finally getting set to issue the formal tender for the long-pending over Rs 42,000 crore project to make six new-generation stealth submarines domestically with foreign collaboration.

Defence ministry (MoD) sources on Monday said the tender or RFP (request for proposal) “should be issued by next month” to defence shipyard Mazagon Docks (MDL) and private ship-builder L&T for the submarine programme, called Project-75 India (P-75I).

It will be the first project to be launched under the strategic partnership (SP) policy promulgated by the NDA government in May 2017 to boost indigenous production under the overall “Make in India” platform.

The two Indian shipyards or SPs will have to submit their technical and commercial bids in response to the RFP after they tie up with their preferred original equipment manufacturer (OEM) from the five short-listed by the MoD earlier.
(Economic Times, 11 August 2020) News Link

• DAC approves procurement of 106 Basic Trainer Aircraft, clears proposals of over Rs 8,722 crore
  Key points:
• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Tuesday approved proposals of about Rs 8,772.38 crore for capital acquisition of various equipment and platforms, including 106 Basic Trainer Aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for IAF.
• “Post-certification 70 Basic Trainer Aircraft will be initially procured from HAL and balance 36 after operationalisation of HTT-40 fleet in IAF,” the release said.
• To improve the firepower of Indian Navy, the DAC approved procurement of an upgraded version of Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM), which is fitted as the main gun on board Navy and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) warships, from (BHEL).
• The DAC also approved procurement of 125 mm APFSDS (Armour Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot) ammunition for Indian Army as a ‘Design and Development Case’. The ammunition being procured will have a 70 per cent indigenous content.
  (Economic Times, 11 August 2020) News Link

Investment in Bharat by Other Countries

1. Japanese firm Amperex Technology Limited acquires 180-acre at Rs 550 crore in Haryana
   Key points:
2. Amperex Technology Limited (ATL), a manufacturer of rechargeable Lithium Ion Polymer (LIP) batteries, has acquired a 180 acre land at Rs 550 crore near Gurugram, Haryana in one of the largest land deals of the year.
3. A global leader in supplying LIP batteries across the world, ATL has two cell manufacturing facilities in China but because of India-China border tension, it has decided to invest in an Indian manufacturing unit by the name of ATL India technology private ltd.
4. The reserve price of Rs 3.05 crore per acre was fixed for allotment of the site lies about 46.6 km away from International Airport, New Delhi.
5. According to a report by Savills, industrial landlords in India are reporting an uptick in industrial occupation in their parks after manufacturers starting diversifying operations from China.
6. The report highlights that trade conflict between US and China will influence cross-border activity for many years regardless of US leadership, thereby strengthening opportunities for real estate investment in markets including India, Vietnam and mainland Europe.
   (ET, 11 August 2020) News Link

• Medtronic’s Rs 1200-crore investment to turn Hyderabad into hub of medical devices

Key points:

1. With an investment of Rs 1,200 crore, Hyderabad will host Medtronic’s largest global research and development center outside the United States of America.
2. The investment is planned over five years and is aimed at making Hyderabad the hub of medical devices in the country.
3. The company will expand their current R&D Center for Medical Device Software and Engineering Solutions facility with an investment of Rs 1,200 crore into a ‘state of the art engineering and innovation center’ in Hyderabad.

(The New indian Express, 11 August 2020) News Link

Manufacturing in  Bharat by Bhartiya Companies

‘Make In India’ Success: Tamil Nadu Textile Firm Produces Virus Barrier Product To Help Frontline Workers Combat Covid-19

Key points:

1. A textile firm in Tamil Nadu’s Udumalpet town, about 70 km from Coimbatore, has come up with India’s first virus barrier products made of fabric that is considered safe for frontline workers engaged in tackling the spread of novel coronavirus (Covid-19).
2. Sri Venkatalakshmi Spinners (SVS) has come up with this innovation that matches the American and European standards in preventing virus penetration through the coveralls worn by frontline workers, particularly doctors.

(SwarajyaMag, 11 August 2020) News Link

Exports

• India’s exports of non-basmati rice in first two months of FY21 jumps 52.5%
  Key points:
• India’s exports of non-basmati rice in the first two months of FY21 has jumped 52.5% to 11.13 lakh tonnes from 7.3 lakh tonnes in the same period of FY20.
• Africa has emerged as the major buyer of non-basmati rice and exporters are hoping volumes will increase further when Bangladesh starts importing this variety.
• Suraj Agarwal, CEO, Tirupati Agri Trade said a decision from the Bangladesh government on import of rice from India is expected by the end of this week or early next week.

(Economic Times, 11 August 2020) News Link

Startup in Bharat by Bhartiya

1. Online climate school Terra.do raises $1.4M from Rainmatter Capital, BEENEXT, others
   Key points:
2. Online climate school Terra.do has closed a $1.4 million seed round led by Stanford Angels and Entrepreneurs (India), BEENEXT Emerging Asia, Zerodha-backed Rainmatter Capital, and prominent angels from the Indian and US ecosystem.
3. The five-month old company selects talented individuals who care about climate change. It takes them through an intensive 12-week bootcamp taught by top experts to teach all aspects of climate – science, policy, business, social justice.
4. Terra.do’s mission has struck a chord with some prominent investors, including Zerodha’s Nithin Kamath’s climate-focused Rainmatter fund, Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs (India) led by Paula Mariwala, and Beenext, a $160million early-stage fund focused on Asia.

(Your Story, 11 August 2020) News Link

This Pune startup is disrupting food industry with its cloud-based solution
Key points:

Pune-based TechMainstay Software Pvt. Ltd is helping all types of food businesses leverage technology through its cloud-based end-to-end technology solution for managing restaurants.

Founded in 2014 by Rahil Shaikh, its restaurant management software, TMBill, allows food businesses – ranging from a standalone food outlet to large sized food chains – to manage several functions such as billing, CRM, QR code-based ordering, analytics, inventory management, waste management, customer loyalty, menu management, vendor management among many others. 

The startup currently has a team of 20 developers and over 35 support and sales executives working from across India

Rahil claims to be having over 3,000 restaurants from over 290 cities and nine countries using the startup’s technology platform. The clients are required to pay Rs 9,000 annually for availing TMBill’s complete restaurant package services.
(Your Story, 11 August 2020) News Link

With clients like ISB, this startup is changing the face of education by digitising colleges, universities
Key points:

iWeb Technologies is a cloud and SaaS ERP solutions company focussed on digitising end-to-end operations for educational institutes founded in 2005.

The startup has been providing enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for multiple verticals. However, around 2013, the startup shifted its focus and started digitising end-to-end operations on the Cloud / SaaS for educational institutes, i.e. universities, colleges, and schools across India on a homegrown platform called PaaS Agilewiz.

Akshay says, the startup works on a B2B2C and freemium model. The current revenue is at Rs 150 per student per year. 
(Your Story, 11 August 2020) News Link

• BITS Pilani students’ robotics startup is working towards mind-controlled wheelchairs and prostheses

Key points:

1. Founded by two BITS Pilani students, robotics startup Nexstem uses EEG signals to predict users’ thoughts and bridge the gap between man and machine. It can be used to create mind-controlled wheelchairs, prostheses, and communication systems.
2. It has created a headgear that captures electrical impulses of the brain and transmits them to its software platform, which analyses the data. Siddhant mentions that the cheapest EEG device that captures these signals costs around Rs 80,000.

It has received funding from HostelFund, a platform that helps student entrepreneurs, and also from BITS Spark Angels, a group of angel investors who are BITS Pilani alumni.
(Your Story, 11 August 2020) News Link